Church and Politics

Church politicking 'disturbing' to IRS

By Patrice Hill
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published February 25, 2006

The Internal Revenue Service said yesterday it found a "disturbing" amount of illegal politicking in churches and charities after investigating complaints coming out of the 2004 election.
To prevent a repeat in the upcoming congressional elections, the agency said it is gearing up to quickly investigate and quash any violations that arise this year.
"We want to stop improper activity during -- not after -- the election cycle," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. "Now is the time to act, before it is too late" to prevent churches and charities from becoming deeply embroiled in politics and the fundraising process.
More than 100 complaints were filed with the tax agency after the closely contested 2004 presidential election charging that some evangelical and black churches and various nonprofit groups violated their tax-exempt status by overtly campaigning for the candidates.
The agency completed investigations of 82 cases, and found that nearly three out of four of the groups violated the tax law at least once. It did not release any of the groups' names but said they represented "the full spectrum of political viewpoints.